Montserrat 5

The FCO legal advisers propose to take away the right of public servants to express a political opinion.  This fundamental right is found in section 12 of the draft Constitution.  It is the provision for the protection of freedom of expression:  In colonial constitutions the fundamental right was traditionally constrained in relation to public servants.  The thinking was that if you are working for Government, you should not be permitted to come out and express views opposed to the Government of the day.

The way that the right has traditionally been curtailed is by placing in General Orders, the contractual document binding all public servants, a term prohibiting the public or private expression of any political opinion by any public servant.  This was so draconian and absolute a restriction of a fundamental right that it has long been the subject of interpretation by the courts. 

Restrictions on permanent secretaries and other confidential advisers of government ministers of their public expression of political views may be justifiable.  Ministers need to be confident that their highest advisers will not appear suddenly on a political platform betraying the confidences previously shared.  The same does not apply to the lower ranks of the public service.  It is generally understood in the West Indies today that a blanket ban on public expression of political views by the general mass of public servants is highly objectionable.

The earlier provision in the Constitution of Montserrat was that the prohibition on expressing a political opinion must be “reasonably justifiable in a democratic society”.  Such a wording has been held by the courts of the West Indies to make it illegal to restrict the lower ranks of the public service from expressing their political opinions. 

The draft Constitution proposes to remove the need for the prohibition to be reasonably justifiable in a democratic society.  It is to be replaced by a need for Government to show only that the restriction “is reasonably required for the purpose of ensuring the proper performance of their functions.”  This is clearly a lower threshold than previously.  And, the higher test has been removed without any explanation. 

The intention appears to be to water down the previously enjoyed right, with a view to making it easier to gag teachers and public servants through General Orders.  There is absolutely no justification for this proposed curtailment of this fundamental right of all Montserratians to freedom of expression.

FOI

Freedom of Information Acts:  Over the past several posts we have been considering the ways that our governments can demonstrate transparency.  An essential tool in this endeavour is the Freedom of Information Act. 

Among the smaller territories of the West Indies, Cayman Islands alone have put in place a law that enables any citizen to demand copies of almost any government document that would previously have remained secret.  Every citizen is entitled to know what documents relating to him and his affairs government is collecting and filing. 

There is no surer mechanism for guaranteeing transparency than a Freedom of Information Act and the various regulations that make it work.  It is long overdue in Anguilla.  Here, it is nearly impossible to obtain any information on the programmes or activities of any department of Anguilla.  Most government activity in Anguilla is a state secret. 

It is long overdue that we bring that abortion of a system of government to an end.

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Guest Editorial 5     

White man

God, I love this angry white man. I never heard of him before. Someone sent me the link to this video. It was so beautiful to listen to. I had to share it with you:

Is that not the most refreshing piece of honesty you have heard for a long time?  I thought so.

I don't know whether his rant applies more to our Muslim cousins than it does to our Christian brothers and sisters. What is certain is that it applies to both of them. Probably equally!

For my determinedly Christian readers, who would rather listen to his blast directed to our Muslim cousins I recommend this video as being more politically correct. For Christians, that is:

All those Anguillians who would love to live in faith-based Saudi Arabia right now, put up your hands!

Tragedies

The TCI Journal is my hero. I try to read the TCI Journal every day. Each daily exposure is for a West Indian what the cathartic effect must have been in old Athens of attending one of the tragedies of Sophocles. One leaves the pages of the Journal drained of all emotion, conscious only that it is good to be alive and living in a different place. I do not know how I could keep my sanity if I had to put up with what the people of the TCI are going through. They are my second set of heroes.

Just today, I was looking at the several items published on 4 June. I have to urge you to read them yourselves to see what I am talking about.

I started with a letter from W Hurd on Freedom of the Press. His quotations ably illustrated the points he was making. I was particularly struck by Adlai Stephenson’s “My definition of a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular.”

John Hartley’s Letter from London reminded us how the political crisis now playing out in London may affect the liberties of the people of the TCI, and us in Anguilla too, for that matter.

Diana de Gara’s heart rending call for Patience took my breath away, as all her writing inevitably does.

And then I read Shawn Malcolm’s account of the proceedings in the Supreme Court yesterday. Some 15 lawyers from London were presenting applications by two of the foreigners who were mentioned by Sir Robin Auld as possibly being implicated in paying bribes to Premier Michael Missick. They are trying to stop the Auld Report from being published. They claim that Sir Robin’s remit from the Governor was only to investigate politicians. He had no business mentioning their clients’ names. As Mr Malcolm points out, it is difficult to see how Sir Robin could have detailed the reports of bribes paid to politicians if he did not mention who is alleged to have paid the bribes.

May they all burn in eternal hellfire.